


the sun will rise

by goodgriefdean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon verse, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sam POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-18 17:19:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11295183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodgriefdean/pseuds/goodgriefdean
Summary: Dean’s face is pained as he presses his fingers into the bruised skin, as if he can’t stand the thought that he could be hurting Cas. Like that thought alone is hurting him. Sam thinks of Jess.





	the sun will rise

**Author's Note:**

> yay! another ficlet. 
> 
> you can find me on tumblr [here](https://goodgriefdean.tumblr.com/)
> 
> please comment and leave kudos if you enjoy. i'l love you forever :')

“ _Drive faster.”_ Dean’s voice sounds tense from the backseat. Sam meets his eyes in the rearview mirror, nodding. He presses just a little harder on the gas. It’s not long to the motel from here. He just hopes they can make it.

Castiel is in the backseat, cradled by Dean’s body. He is bleeding from his head and his leg is twisted in a strange, wrong direction. He is only barely conscious. Dean’s face is tight and grim; they both know that this will take some time to heal. Cas is only newly human. This lies on the Winchesters.

Sam speeds into the motel parking lot, practically skidding into the space nearest their door.He leaps from the car, rounding the back to the trunk where he pulls out the first aid kit. He looks to Dean, who is pulling Cas out of the backseat as quickly and gently as possible, bringing him up against his chest. Sam fumbles in his pocket for the key and hurries to the door, opening it and holding it for Dean and Cas.

Dean lays Cas down on the left side of his own claimed bed. “Cloth. Now.”

Sam opens the kit and pulls out a cloth, handing it to Dean, who folds it up and presses it against Cas’s forehead in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It has begun to slow anyway. Sam hopes it isn’t as deep as they feared.

With the cloth in place, Dean begins to peel Cas’s coat from his shoulders, gently removing it from his torso and arms. Sam stands back feeling useless. Somehow, this seems like something Dean needs to handle on his own. Sam stands at a distance, ready to help if Dean needs it.

When Dean stands to get a damp towel from the bathroom, he meets Sam’s eyes, and he feels a pit form in his stomach. Dean’s eyes are wild with fear.

And that’s when Sam thinks, _oh._

When Dean returns to Cas’s side, removing the cloth from his forehead to press the wet towel over the blood and grime, Cas’s eyes start to blink open.

“Dean?” He rasps.

“Yeah, buddy, it’s me.” Dean speaks so quietly that Sam can barely hear it from his spot against the wall.

“…Hurts.” Cas mumbles.

Dean pushes the sweaty hair off Cas’s forehead. “I know,” he all but whispers. “I’ll fix you up, real goof. Promise.” Sam looks away, his chest aching. Cas’s eyes fall shut again.

Sam watches as Dean carefully unbuttons Cas’s white shirt.

“Are his ribs broken?”

Dean is silent for a moment, brushing his fingers against bruised skin, pressing gently here and there.

“No.” Dean’s voice comes out hoarse. “Just bruised, I think.”

Dean moves down to Cas’s leg. He gently removes a boot, leaving the sok where it is. He pushes the pant leg up Cas’s leg as far as he can manage. His ankle is swollen. Dean’s face is pained as he presses his fingers into the bruised skin, as if he can’t stand the thought that he could be hurting Cas. Like that thought alone is hurting _him._ Sam thinks of Jess.

“It’s a clean break,” he says. “It’ll heal quickly if we set it right.”

Sam is quiet for a moment, thinking. “Should we find him some cleaner clothes?”

“Oh yeah.” Dean says. “Let’s do that before I work on his leg. Go check in my bag. I have some sweatpants.”

Sam unzips Dean’s bag and comes up with a pair of sweatpants and a soft cotton t shirt. He tosses the bundle of clothes to Dean and sits on his own bed. But he finds that as he watches Dean undress Cas, he has to look away. There’s something about it all: the tenderness, the quiet in the room. The conversation he and Dean had recently, in the same car Cas had been bleeding in just hours ago. About _Something More._ The tightness in Sam’s chest won’t release. He rolls over and closes his eyes, waiting.

When Sam wakes up a while later, he looks over to Dean’s bed. Cas is still on his back the way they had lain him down, and Dean is next to him, on his stomach, one arm slung over Cas’s middle.Sam wonders how many times they’ve fallen asleep like that.

“Night, guys,” he murmurs, and switches off the light. Tomorrow is a fresh start.


End file.
